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Who is left for Arsenal to sign?

It’s been a long transfer window for us Gunners. by JH

Whether you are an AKB or WOB. It’s been long.

We need a striker, the fans know it, pundits know it, Arsene Wenger knows it and hell even Olivier Giroud knows it. But where is the new striker we waited for all summer?

First was Jackson Martinez, we where happy with him, but he left for AC Milan. Without so much as a glance from Wenger. Then the long Benzema saga – will he, won’t he? Turns out – No he won’t!

And then from there, the media didn’t know who to turn to. First came Cavani, but PSG don’t want to sell. Along came Higuain once again, but apparently we don’t want him anymore. Then we get linked with Zlatan, That’s right, the same media who slam Wenger and Arsenal for their wage structure actually claiming we want £300k a week Zlatan…. Sure.

Now the media has decided (and they are probably right) that it is panic buy time. Im sure we’ve all seen the links to Charlie Austin these past few days. Then BANG!!! Pato goes and follows Arsenal on twitter, so he must be coming. And then tonight, reporter Ian Abrahams from Talksport goes ahead and says Callum Wilson may be the guy. Yes Bournemouths Callum Wilson!

Which brings me to what I came to write in the first place….

Just who on earth are Arsenal going to sign? Who is left? Realistically!

With the closure of the German, Spanish, Italian and French windows, there is no time for replacements.
Therefore, Reus, Aubaumeyang, Lewandowski, Muller, Benzema, Lacazette, Icardi none of them will be leaving, as their clubs would have brought in someone to replace them.
So, realistically who can we go for?

Callum Wilson, at 23 years of age, he is developed enough to start, whilst also having time to improve, he has already scored 4 this season all coming in his last 2 games, he has decent pace and seems very composed in front of goal and he averages just 2 shots per goal, one big plus about this deal would be that he would not be too expensive, playing for bournemouth I could see him coming for less than £10million. One thing supporting this deal is that they may well have just bought a replacement in Glenn Murray for £5million.

Next we go to Pato. Seems like he has been around forever but he is just 25, but, the links to Pato in my eyes are ridiculous, he followed Arsenal on twitter then he must be coming right?

Don’t get me wrong, when he burst onto the scene at the San Siro I would have took him in a heartbeat, but then injuries played a huge part in his career for a couple of years and he moved back to Brazil in 2013, since then he hasn’t even hit double figures once, in Brazil, if he can’t hit 10 in Brazil how on earth is he going to improve our first 11? He Won’t.

Next, Gabriel Barbosa (fans of Football Manager will know him) he is 19, small, quick, highly skillful, certainly sounds like an Arsenal player. But I think Wenger wants a big guy up top, someone to hold the ball up when needed, hence why Giroud starts the majority of the time over TW. Also the likelihood of getting a teenager from Brazil over the line on deadline day is slim. Very slim.

Bas Dost, not really talked about, but he struck 16 times in 17 starts from just 43 shots in the Bundesliga last year, he is very tall, very good in the air and showed ruthlessness in front of goal last year. Wolfsburg also signed a new striker in Max Kruse this summer. One big problem with this deal would be Kevin De Bruyne. Wolfsburg don’t want to sell their stars, it took ridiculous £54million to get De Bruyne, they will not let another go.

I dont think I want to start the Higuain conversation. I’ll just say Wenger will not pay his asking price.

Charlie Austin, now he is an interesting one, when I first heard this rumour I thought “Oh God NO”. But I have been thinking, sure he is not the big name we want, but a big name doesnt usually become one until they move to a big club. I can’t think of any big names at little clubs. Austin is 26 so he is not old but he isnt young either, he is unlikely to improve much.

Last year he was outscored by only Diego Costa of Chelsea and of course Sergio Aguero. His first season in the top league and he was outscored by only the number 9 of the eventual champions and the best number 9 on the planet, not bad.

I believe he is much more clinical than Giroud, he also likes to shoot from outside of the box (something we could do with) he is also very good in the air.

£15million would get him, it would be a gamble, but if it doesnt work out i am sure a championship side would take him off our hands for around £10million. And you never know, he may well turn out to be that fox in the box everybody has spoken about for so long.

And then I’m afraid I get stuck, Unless Wenger pulls out an unexpected big name, or a player nobody knows who just clicks. I struggle to see who we will get.

So what do you guys think? If you had to pick from one of Austin, Wilson, Pato or Giroud, Who would you pick to lead our line this year??

And can you think of any other realistic striker targets??

By JonnHirons

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48 Comments

    2. Surely both RM and PSG will not sell Benzema or Cavani to us, since we have a chance to face them in CL 16. While Napoli is a seeded in Europa League group D, no chance to sell Higuain to us too. Only if any of them is surprisingly eliminated from the group stage, which is almost impossible, they may sell to us in January window. So, I won’t be dreaming about striker :-).
      But I think Wenger is still working to strengthen our defence, finger cross ….

  2. Cant believe you guys are buying that whole ‘There are no available players” story that Wenger is selling. Where are all these other teams getting their players from? I believe he is a big fan of that Living on a Prayer Bon Jovi song and he is trying to make Ginas out of all of us. His prayer, that nobody gets injured the whole season and all other teams drop points allowing him to win with minimum pounds spent. Dream on Wenger.

    1. Nice one…
      The only way we can win the title this season is if teams perform very poorly… Not because we were much better than them.

    2. I agree with you 50%. There are strikers available and we definitely can buy 1. But then it is always a question on whether the player is good enough or not. Personally i think it is very very subjective. So many people think Cavani is not worth buying, and so many think Benzema is not worth buying. Few people are okay with Charlie Austin but few think it is better not to sign anyone than sign Austin. So basically it is down to what Wenger thinks is right and till the day he is our manager we would have to like what he does no matter what.

    3. Goonfella, I think it’s a case of Wenger made a list and those players are unavailable. Maybe he should be making bigger lists, Id like to know exactly who and how many where on it. Very disappointed, sky sports have said it looks like there will be no movement.

      1. The transfer market requires a bit of aggression i believe. You cant just wait for teams to hand over their players at whatever price you deem best. Had Wenger been aggressive, players like Higuain and Suarez wouldnt have slipped through our hands. He is two or three players short of a formidable team but i don’t see him going for them. Therefore competing for major honors this season honestly.
        Chelsea won the premier league..brought in more players.
        Man city finished second…..brought in very good players
        Man united fourth…..bit of a comic this LVG guy
        Liverpool….about ten new players
        Arsenal…..Welbeck will be coming back soon

  3. Wenger aint signing no one and that the fact! Its quite obvious now. Wenger is too old to change i guess. WENGER OUT!!!!

    1. OK…we can kiss quality transfers goodbye for this season. We’ll be back in January and next summer to watch the same movie all over again.

      1. Usually I’d reply by mentioning how we got top class players in the last two windows, three if you count this window with Cech signing, but am not going to or you could say I just did. The thing is though I’m worried that your right, if we cant get whichever club to sell whatever player we were chasing in this window well whats to say they’re going to sell in the next window. Very poor from the Arsenal, like we went into it thinking oh well something will come up, instead of turning players heads and unsettling them into asking for move.

    2. If we have a striker of Diego Costa calibre and sign Pedro too, but we are now sitting at 13th with 4 points out of 16, while seeing Chelsea at 6th and City 8 points ahead of us, will you be happier than today?

        1. I believe, under current Arsenal level, Wenger wants really big names only. And by this standard, those who are of at least £40 mio, we are talking about about 4 names only: Lewandowski, Benzema, Higuain, and Cavani (and Suarez in the past). That said, I don’t think Wenger ever considers names like Jackson Martinez, Carlos Bacca, Alexandre Lacazette, or Pedro Rodriguez, each are at their inflated prices of course.

          Problem is, none of the clubs who owns these 4 big names is willing to sell to us. Why? Because practically it will surely backfire them in CL competition (except Higuain case).
          Do you think a ridiculous bid can lure any of these big names, under current situation? Ask United and Madrid about their David de Gea drama 🙂

          1. Talking of forcing a team’s hands…… Madrid have just forced Manure into selling the De gea………. Knock urself out!

  4. Who is left? Nobody…….We let players move to other teams. We won’t sign anyone…..I don’t think Wenger will prove us wrong. What is He doing in Paris? Cavani???? I don’t think so…Same scenario every year…

    2. Uzi, he commentates on the French Internationals ..also it’s his home country. I know you knew this already but I wouldn’t get my hopes up with Cavani, he just played a blinder on the weekend and the other fella is an old man ..football terms. Rabiot sounds and smells like a Wenger signing but we just got Beilik so I’d be 50/50 on whether Wenger would even consider him.

      Also ..I know allot of fans including myself think it is a ridiculous amount to pay for Martial, but with the hunt for top strikers proving a scarcely difficult thing to find well maybe gambles like that should be taken. With Wengers eye for spotting someones potential I’m sure he’d have a good idea on the boys full capabilities and his future worth, with that in mind if he thought the lad might well become a 30 to 40 mil player in time well then taking the gamble now could have been a route to go.

  6. I don’t get you guys. You ask for a Giroud improvement and you settle with Charlie Austin. Make up your mind, do you want an upgrade or some depth? There’s nothing wrong with the later but at least try and be consistent.

      1. COMMENTS – PLEASE READ – ABUSE WILL NOT BE TOLERATED We have a strict policy at JustArsenal. There will be NO swearing or personal abuse in the comments section. Anyone breaking these rules once will immediately be put into moderation. Repeat offenders will be banned completely. Please be polite…

  8. Here’s a great idea. How about we don’t waste any money on players who aren’t world class and instead make a significant decrease on ticket prices so that actual Arsenal fans can go and rock the stadium. Right now the only thing quieter than the emirates is an empty emirates stadium.

    1. Nice idea however can’t really see kroenke and cronies going for it!

      How about we fly a banner over the Emirates that reads something like ‘spend more or charge less’.

      1. There’s no point in spending for the sake of it. There are no strikers to buy. Not one world class striker has moved this season. The fact that United spend 36 million on Martial says all you need to know. I’m as disappointed as anyone and we probably aren’t signing anyone.

  9. Have been calling for wengers departure now for 5 years on grounds he could not take the club to the next level … Personally I feel the record in that time proves me right but ok some can throw in references to debt overhang or cup wins or a couple of genuine world class additions to the squad etc … However I hope this window stands as a real testament to the mans failings and all genuine supporters of the club get behind a call to remove him at the seasons end … Qed

    1. If your going to solely weigh one transfer window against him steadying our ship in a seriously difficult period along with fa cups and signing Sanchez Cazorla Cech and Ozil ..well then there is only one winner and its not failing in a transfer window.

      On the pitch is what ultimately matters, the window helps you not fail if done correctly ..fair enough. But you are weighing things he accomplished against something that may or may not get you over the line.

  10. charlie austin can score goals…hes a beast in the box…his problem is his passing which at arsenal is the basis for the game…

    in simple terms austin is not that technical but he is good in the air and has a ferocious shot.

    2013/2014
    19 goals in the championship

    2014/2015
    19 goals in the epl

    That said I wouldn’t pay 15 M for charlie austin but if moves for cavani or higuain fail.

    I would take charlie austin on loan from QPR as a good option.

    charlie austin is very good at getting goals.he can get about 20 goals even as a substitute.

    but should be last option compared to the likes of pato.

    1. The only passing a striker should be doing is to the net. and he seems better than Wenger’s son giroud at that

    2. Yeah, Charlie Austin can get 20 goals even if he’s at home watching Arsenal games. So good is he. Wonder why Manure didn’t bought him and went for a 36 mil 19 yrs old.

  11. Why on earth are people talking about Charlie Austin??

    He is no where near good enough to play for a top four side, and he isn’t a player a squad would have when they wish to challenge for the league title.

    I am hopeful Arsene Wenger has something up his sleeve. He has already addressed what we need, another midfielder & the possibility of signing a striker, so I can’t help but think he is doing business.
    As usual, it’ll be a few late deals if it does happen, but I’m hoping we do some good business!

  13. I reckon we need a DM more than an ST. We have Giroud, Walcott and Welbeck up front whereas in DM we only have Coq, Flamini and Arteta who naturally play that position. I think we can agree that while Cazorla is effective sitting deeper, he is not a DM.

    Obviously we should strengthen both positions but, for me, we need a DM more than an ST. However, I can’t see us signing anyone today – I hope I’m wrong.

  15. Martinez is at Atletico right now, I think Arsene lost interest on him since WC Brazil 2014. AW still can surprise us in the last minute, but he’s really has a bad bad time management. Wasting too much time to pursue Benzema and walk into tiny little time to negotiate on Cavani? Does AW really flied to Paris trying to land Cavani, or he just fixing his zipping problem once and for all? We’ll know in few hours. Anyway, cross your fingers!

  16. So basically that thing I said about 4 weeks ago is true. No big strikers were moving.

    The fact is, there was a handful of very quick movements of strikers RIGHT at the start of the window. Martinez, Dybala, Benteke etc. all moved early. Meanwhile I think it was clear Wenger was going for someone out of the top bracket and buying one of these players would have stopped us signing a top bracket player. You say we’d have been happy with Benteke or Martinez but I don’t think we would have. Most Arsenal fans don’t really know squat about Martinez and Benteke had the fans on here debating anyway. No, truth of the matter is the fans wanted someone BIG who was going to be Henry, Suarez, Aguero, RVP level. Guess what? None of them were available.

    Which leads me to say I don’t really get the vitriol on here regarding the lack of purchase of these players. It’s blaming Wenger for the lack of good strikers available. Surely we should be more angry that NO OTHER POSITION was considered weak enough that we could sign a good replacement when it became clear that a top top striker was not an option? Once we established we could not get the level of striker we wanted, why did we not pursue a deal elsewhere?

    Honestly, the striker debate is done. There is nobody available in that position who we can buy who will improve the first 11. SO we should be looking what other positions we can buy in to improve the first 11. Strikers are done.

  17. Wenger is getting revenge ?
    even if he has signed Cavani already,
    He will make us sweat until the last minute of the transfer window before it is announced.

    His in Paris right now, probably killing 2 birds with one stone,
    Working for the french tv and signing 2 players,
    Now day’s the medical’s can be done else where!

    If we go back to what Claude tv said after the Liverpool game
    and he seemed pretty confident that we would sign 2 players from the same team….. right?

  18. There has been a long transfer window and Wenger has done nothing. He has let the supporters down big time. Personally I do not like Wenger anymore. He is a subtle and clever liar. He may be a good coach but that does not warrant his awful manipulation of the supporters. It no longer matters about results, although the club will not win the league for certain, it is about honesty and respect and Wenger has none at all for the Arsenal faithful. Shame on you Arsene Wenger

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